The Wheel Fell Off! | FerrariChat

The Wheel Fell Off!

Discussion in 'Ferrari Discussion (not model specific)' started by cove26, Nov 22, 2009.

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  1. cove26

    cove26 Formula 3

    Nov 13, 2007
    1,135
    CT
    Full Name:
    Mike
    Ok so I recently had new tires mounted and balanced by a recommended company which will remain nameless at the current time. Everything was great, until my wife and I went out for a leisurely Sunday drive.

    As we were driving to the highway, I felt some vibration and thought maybe I had something stuck in the tire. I stopped and checked and there was nothing in the tire. So we get onto the Highway on ramp and as I am shifting through the gears, the car seems as if it wants to pull more than normal. I get to about 60 mph and enter onto the highway and all of a sudden, it feels as if I am driving on ice! The car begins to pull more and at that point I knew something was not right. I pulled off to the shoulder of the highway and just as I do so, I hear a bang and feel a bump. I stop the car and get out to check what surely can not be good and what do I find? I find 2 of the 5 wheel studs on the roadway and the other 3 were loose in the wheel. The rear drive side wheel had come off the hub and the rotor was resting on the inside of the wheel, but the wheel was still on the car. Now since I had the new tires installed, I have put on a just under 100 miles. What I am guessing is that the tire place did not torque down the studs properly or they were distracted, who knows, but pretty much shot my day to hell! It doesn't appear that there is any other damage as of yet that I can see. You can be assured that I will be contacting the company that installed the wheels ASAP tomorrow!

    Any thoughts?
     
  2. Ricambi America

    Ricambi America F1 World Champ
    Sponsor Owner

    Are these aftermarket wheels or stock Ferrari wheels? If aftermarket, did the shop install new bolts in whatever-sized was required to get proper thread engagement on the hub? The wheel manufacturer (I assume) would have supplied bolts or made a recommendation.

    Stock 360 bolts are 52mm long from the end of the threads to the start of the conical head. From what I have seen, most aftermarket wheels require significantly longer bolts to gain proper thread engagement.

    If stock wheels, indeed, my guess is improper installation.
     
  3. cove26

    cove26 Formula 3

    Nov 13, 2007
    1,135
    CT
    Full Name:
    Mike
    Stock wheels with the original stock bolts.
     
  4. Papa G

    Papa G Formula 3

    Dec 29, 2003
    1,406
    Holy ****e!! :eek:

    Thankfully that's all that's happened considering what could've happened. I've come to the sad conclusion that you have to check any work that's done on your car, house, body, etc...
     
  5. dwhite

    dwhite F1 Rookie

    First and the most important thing is you and your wife were not injured. Did you take any pictures or call the cops to have a documented record of the event?

    I would be furious and I know going forward I would never drive a car away from a place without having someone check the torque on the lug nuts and/or bolts first, regardless of what the place says.

    Have the car checked to make sure nothing was damaged and if there was damage you will need to have the shop make good for any repairs, probably not to be done by them.

    Again the most important thing is you are okay.
     
  6. Crawler

    Crawler F1 Veteran

    Jul 2, 2006
    5,018
    #6 Crawler, Nov 22, 2009
    Last edited by a moderator: Nov 22, 2009
    I had the same thing happen to me the day after Xmas last year (thankfully not on the Dino). I was on a city street and thankfully I was able to slow down as the car began to feel "wobbly". It was the left rear wheel on a Fiat. The wheel came completely off and the aluminum brake drum was resting on the ground. When I checked the other three wheels, they were all loose! I'd had new wheels and tires mounted about 4 or 5 months previously, and my mechanic had subbed the work out to some tire shop, so I didn't pursue it (though I made sure my guy heard about it). The wheel was ruined from contact with the brake drum on the inside as it came off. Luckily the only other damage was one stripped thread in the drum (Fiats use lug bolts) that I was able to re-tap.

    Ever since, I always check lug nut torque with a torque wrench (75-85 ft./lbs.) after every service if wheels have been mounted or rotated, and every six months or so after that.

    You don't mention it, but I assume that you checked the other three wheels. I would definitely let the installer know, and double check to be absolutely certain that there's no damage to the wheels, especially the lug nut seats. As stated above, also have the suspension, brake, etc. thoroughly checked out on that corner.

    I can testify that it's a scary experience. We were both lucky that it didn't occur at high speed. Good luck!
     
  7. cove26

    cove26 Formula 3

    Nov 13, 2007
    1,135
    CT
    Full Name:
    Mike
    We called AAA but they could not tow the car or find a tower who hand a flat bed that could get low enough to get the car without damaging it. We called the State Police more for a stand by to protect us so we didn't get rear ended, so they should both have a record if we really need it. I also called the company and told them that I need to speak with them about a tire issue. No one was there so I had to leave a message.

    Luckily, we were able to get 4 of the 5 bolts back in because one of the bolts threads were damaged, and were only about 6 miles away from home so we crawled home to park it in the garage. Luckily we are OK, because it could have gotten really ugly!
     
  8. Crawler

    Crawler F1 Veteran

    Jul 2, 2006
    5,018
    #8 Crawler, Nov 22, 2009
    Last edited by a moderator: Nov 22, 2009
    The other lucky thing with me was that as I was standing there wondering what to do, within about 3 minutes, along comes a good Samaritan who just happened to have a floor jack in the back of his pick-up! We were able to get the jack under the frame and steal one lug bolt off each of the other wheels so that I could drive the 5 or 6 miles home slowly and carefully.
     
  9. fgcfire8

    fgcfire8 Formula Junior

    Jan 19, 2008
    459
    Montpelier Va
    Full Name:
    Frank Castelvecchi
    I too have had this issue with other vehicles over the years after listening to loose lugnuts in a hubcap on way home from getting tires and finding loose lug nuts/bolts after tire service. My brother gor a front end alignment done on a Fiat Spyder and on way home front suspension fell off where they had not tightened the bolts after changing shims.
    I now carry a torque wrench with me and check the wheel bolt torque in the parking lot before leaving and with aluminum wheels again after 20 and 50 miles.
    Frank
     
  10. SRT Mike

    SRT Mike Two Time F1 World Champ

    Oct 31, 2003
    23,343
    Taxachusetts
    Full Name:
    Raymond Luxury Yacht
    most important thing - nobody was hurt.


    On the wheel shop, if it was done 100 miles ago, they are going to deny deny deny. They will say it was right when it left, and how can you prove otherwise?

    It may be one of those things where you need to let the insurance handle this. Try to get the wheel shop's insurance to cover it, but i think if they don't agree, you will have a hard time forcing them to pay up.

    Luckily the damage is probably not all that bad, and I would be very surprised if there was additional damage to frame/suspension/components beyond what is obviously visible.
     
  11. Saint Bastage

    Saint Bastage F1 Rookie

    Jun 1, 2007
    2,548
    Connecticut
    Full Name:
    Lane
    #11 Saint Bastage, Nov 22, 2009
    Last edited: Nov 22, 2009
    Having been asked the question before, I still cannot find a decent tire and wheel man in CT (I know who he was). Hopefully your installer will make this right but your never going to recover the brain cells lost in the initial anguish.

    Good luck....and I wish I had a recommendation for you.

    Lane
     
  12. anunakki

    anunakki Seven Time F1 World Champ
    Owner Rossa Subscribed

    Oct 8, 2005
    78,876
    Las Vegas Nevada
    Full Name:
    Jerry
    Glad you are okay.

    This is all too common.

    I had new rims put on my car about 5 months ago...A couple days afterwards I just felt something was wrong right before I pulled onto the highway.

    I pulled over and discovered ALL of the lugs were loose... they didnt tighten any of them.
     
  13. cove26

    cove26 Formula 3

    Nov 13, 2007
    1,135
    CT
    Full Name:
    Mike

    On their paperwork, it says that they warranty their labor for up to 60 days, I had these done about 12 days ago. So, hopefully there won't be an issue with them covering anything because I would like to have the suspension checked by the Dealer in CT.
     
  14. Mowgli

    Mowgli Formula Junior

    Feb 28, 2009
    435
    Bristol, CT
    Where abouts are you in CT? I have a guy in Bristol that I will only let him do my tires.
     
  15. Jackmb1

    Jackmb1 F1 Rookie

    Dec 27, 2005
    3,329
    Good thing nothing happened to the both of you and the car. I had the same problem with one of my other cars (not my Ferrari).
     
  16. DGS

    DGS Seven Time F1 World Champ
    Rossa Subscribed

    May 27, 2003
    71,895
    MidTN
    Full Name:
    DGS
    I don't know how accurate it is, but I've heard that you should re-torque the wheels after a few miles of "seating in" after they've been remounted.

    I've been following that advice for some time.

    Of course, when I let the shop install wheels, I usually take my own torque wrench along, rather than rely on the setting on their air impact guns.


    My father had a wheel sheer off on an old Plymouth (which used to have left handed lugs on one side), and I've been a bit anal about getting the wheel nuts properly seated ever since.

    There's a bit of bevel to wheel nuts (or studs, in the case of Ferraris). If you just torque wheel nuts down on the surface of the wheel, the rim can rub against the studs and wear through them. The bevel holds the wheel precisely in place, with only lateral stress on the lugs.

    (That's what happened to my father's car -- the wheel nuts weren't seated correctly, and the lugs sheared off. We had to leave the car up on several jack stands while all the hubs had new lugs installed.)
     
  17. vrooom

    vrooom Formula Junior

    Jan 29, 2007
    457
    are the wheel bolts for your car longer in the front than the rear (as i believe they are on my dino ) ? if so maybe the shop switched the fronts for the backs causing the problem. good luck. dan
     
  18. climb

    climb F1 Rookie

    Sep 19, 2006
    4,866
    Atlantic Beach Fl
    Full Name:
    Stuart K. Hicks
    Same thing started to happen to me when i put my new QV reproduction wheels on.

    I tightened them and took the car for a drive and the car felt wobbly. The next day two of my lugnuts where in my driveway and must have come out just as i was pulling in (talk about lucky). I retorqued and luckiliy never had another problem.
     
  19. fatbillybob

    fatbillybob Two Time F1 World Champ
    Consultant Owner

    Aug 10, 2002
    28,997
    socal
    A ferrari owner and I were racing on a local track where we hit triple digit speeds sub 150mph drifiting into a sweeper. Once we got off track he asked me about a front end wobble he had. I shook his wheel looked fine. I jacked up has car found loose suspension bolts which were just fixed by a race shop putting on a big brake kit for his car. After I tightened back his suspension I put the wheel back on only to notice how his screw in lugstuds were curiously all different lengths. I took the wheel back off to find that some of the lugstuds were hanging on by a couple of threads. Sure the wheel lugnut could be torqued but only gripping on a couple threads! Even pros can be asleep at the switch and at the speeds we travel racing we could die. Anyway some of you ferrari guys have converted lugbolts to screw-in studs and lugbolts. This is a very convenient thing to do especially if you have changed to aftermarket wheels and or race and change tires often. But watchout and properly watch the placement of those screw in studs. This is not an issue with other hub designs that have press-in studs.
     
  20. hansw

    hansw Karting

    Mar 12, 2005
    62
    San Diego, CA
    Full Name:
    Hans J Weber
    If you have ceramic brakes check the rotor for damage since the rotor was resting on the rim. A ceramic rotor would most likely have been damaged.
     
  21. 285ferrari

    285ferrari Two Time F1 World Champ
    Sponsor

    Sep 11, 2004
    20,958
    MD and NE
    Full Name:
    Robbie
    Yes, 100%----Just to be safe---I check my tire pressure once a month and throw the torque wrench on my wheel bolts every other month....
     
  22. thecheddar

    thecheddar Formula 3

    Jun 29, 2006
    1,057
    Santa Monica
    Full Name:
    Cheddar, The
    Thankfully:

    A) You're okay. The outcome could be very different with wheels falling off.

    B) The wheel didn't hurt someone else. Bouncing down the highway, people get hurt.

    C) You're not this guy!

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jv4m41viy4I
     
  23. DrueDown

    DrueDown Rookie

    Apr 17, 2007
    42
    Scottsdale, AZ
    Read the fine print.

    The last three wheel shops I used all stated at the bottom of their forms that the customer is responsible for re-torquing the lugs once they leave the shop.
     
  24. cove26

    cove26 Formula 3

    Nov 13, 2007
    1,135
    CT
    Full Name:
    Mike
    Don't have ceramic rotors. I took the car back tot he shop today and they pulled the wheel off. Everything looked fine to me and they checked and saw that there did not appear to be any damage to the rotors, brakes, or suspension. Luckily, the alignment bolt was bent and the inside of the wheel was scraped. So they did the stand up thing and said they would take care of it all. They are going to order new wheel bolts, align and balance, and refinish the inside of the wheel since it was scratched.

    So, needless to say, I went out and bought a low clearance jack and a torque wrench!

    Just goes to show, apparently you can not trust anyone but yourself, but at least they are taking care of it all like a stand up place should!
     
  25. CornersWell

    CornersWell F1 Rookie

    Nov 24, 2004
    4,896

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